March's Journey to Madness
by keabird
Summary: a tale of march's family life and his love of it that turns to madness.   this is a sister story to "hatters family life"
1. Mothers Love, Fathers Indifference

March's Mad Life

"March its time for bed, honey." Said Deer his Mum.

"Will you sing to me first?" asked five and a half year old march.

"Listen to your mum, you heard her, go to bed." Said farmer his pa from the table with cooper, rooster and Bushmen who were talking, they were the other men from the families that also lived there.

"March, go to bed," she said in a mock stern voice. "I'll be there in a min." she whispered, with a smile. He smiled and darted off to his room where daisy and rose were already sleeping, the daughters of Bushmen and lily. He closed the door but left it open a crack so he could hear what was happening in the other room.

"Deer I wish you would not stretch your self so, you need to rest, I don't want anything to happen to you or the baby."

"It's just a story love. How will that stretch me?"

"You really should be resting, deer." He said as she walked away.

"I am love." She said as she got to the door. March quickly rushed to his bed getting under his covers as he herd her coming.

"March, you better be in your bed or no song's." She said gently so not to wake rose or daisy. He tried to still himself so it looked like he didn't just jump in bed.

"Yup, I am."

"So what do you want to hear?" she said softly, sitting on the edge of his old bed.

"I don't care, anything."

"Okay, uh let's see…" she said tucking him in. "how about, child of the pure unclouded brow and dreaming eyes of wonder." She continued humming. "Thy loving smile will surly hail. The love-gift of a fairy-tale. I have not seen thy sunny face, nor heard thy silver laughter." She said tickling at his chin. "Now go to sleep."

"No one more, please."

"Okay one more. Hm the beggar's song?" he nodded with a smile. "I go my way, and have no cares all day! I go my way; I go my way!" she sang.

"I've nothing at all for clothing, save a single shirt, you see; the raindrops do my washing; fine weather dries for me!

My house is a hollow tree, with that I'm quite content; in such a house as that is; I'm never asked for rent!

The father of my grandfather the king of beggars was he; and I, in my rags and tatters, am happy as can be!

I go my way, and have no care all day; I go my way; I go my way!" she finished.

"Another one!"

"Fine but only a short one then bed, ay. Ok The Clock.

Ding dong. I am the clock.

The castle clock am I.

Ding dong, ding dong, tick tock.

Up in the tower so high.

From height of thy tall tower

Thy bell, O clock, now ring, and tell us, the hour

With thy ding dong. Ding! Ding!" she sang poking his stomach with each ding. "Close your eyes now, night my boy." She said kissing his forehead.

ooOOooOOoo

March and little hatter (hatter was just over a year old) were playing in there new room, they had moved to the out skirts of the city just a while ago, as pa got a royal job, as a harvester. March could hear pa and mum talking loudly, he left hatter to play with his blocks as he crept out the hall to hear better.

"I can't believe what you are telling me, farmer!"

"Its not that bad, love. They don't feel it anyway, and we only take a few. Were doing them a favor anyway, they have too much emotions, we are freeing them from that."

"You are not freeing them if they never go back!"

"Who said they never go back?"

"Well you don't do it and there was no job in the announcement to suggest that they were brought back to their world, JUST HARVESTERS, FARMER!

"What does it matter anyway? We have a house and a healthy baby boy." With that deer left the house slamming the door behind her. Saying something about being blind.

"She just doesn't get it! After all I have given her…" he spoke angrily to the empty room before going to his room.

Then the door bell rang, March got up to answer it but pa came out of his room in a angry rush.

"What do you want?" march could not hear what the visitor said. "March, bushmen's here! March!" he shouted. He had forgotten that Bushmen was coming to teach him about hunting.

"I'm here, I'm ready."

"Fine, leave me with the little hatter, will ya. What are you good for anyway?" he said walking past going to their room.

"Alright March, you good to go?" said bushmen, he was a very large man, he had to be march thought (it was) because he was a logger, and had to carry large logs.

"Ya." _'Good to get out of here._' he thought walking out the house. This has been happening the last few weeks now, started about a year after they moved.

"How's rose?" March asked.

"She's good, she started her apprenticeship at the bakery, she's very happy there."

"Wow already? I didn't know she was already able to get an apprenticeship."

"Not going to ask about daisy?"

"O, ya how is she." He never really saw her, she was a lot older and he always forgot rose had a sister.

"She's married to fisher, good guy. So got your knife?"

"Ya, where're we going?"

"Good lad, the hills today." March smirked at him saying lad, he saw Bushmen as a father, even when they moved in when he was three.

As they got back to the house Bushmen asked, breaking their silent walk. (He Had taught March to be quiet when hunting or tracking)

"Have you thought about what you want to do when your 10?"

"I was thinking about the messenger path."

"Sounds good for you." He then quickly changed the subject. "I like the fact you are out of the city, easy to get to the bush fast. Next week we will go out for a few days in Wabe." _'Brilliant!'_ march thought. he had heard a lot about it from his mum, she had told story's of her pa there. His grandpa had been poor though became a fantastic tracker, he had died of a heart attack when March was three (They had lived with him tell then.)

A few days later march went into the city by him self for the first time to see rose. His mum took hatter with her to visit lily and his pa would never notice if he was gone, he has not her sense they moved out, almost a year and a half ago.

It had taken him some time to get to the right level. He never paid much attention (him being just a small child) back then. He walked and walked looking for the bakery; never getting tired. Then he smelt it, the breads and cakes in the hot ovens. The bakery was under an upper level pathway hidden in the dark. There were a small group of people gathered around it. He had forgotten the demand of food. In the city most people that could, started to grow gardens inside.

He waited for the crowd to get smaller but It never seemed to thin. He then decided to just wait for closing; it was only 2 hours tell then. He sat him self down on the edge of the path swinging his feet, he was not afraid of heights. No one seemed to take notice of him. The time seemed to fly by as he watched the people pass, on all the levels but his thoughts always drifted back to his parents fighting.

"March, is that you?" asked a sweet voice behind him. He had been lost in thought about what his pa said days ago,_ 'how come he just said 'have a house and a healthy baby boy.' Was he not also his son?"_

"O yes, hi rose." He said jumping up. "I wanted to surprise you." He said slightly embarrassed.

"Well this is a surprise, how you been?" she said with a smile "um I do have to get back home." She added.

"O we can walk and talk, ya." He said walking to the left.

"Um, it's the other way."

"Right, so you asked me something, o I have been super, well ok. Mum and pa have started fighting a lot."

"Ya she seems stressed." She said thinking.

"How would you know?"

"She's been around a lot, with hen and her two brothers." She said going up the stairs.

"Cooper and rooster?" she nodded. "Your pa never said anything to me about that."

"He wouldn't know about it, he's never home when they meet at the apartment. I've heard some of what they were saying but it didn't make much sense."

"Like what?"

"Let me think '_if they were only cleared away_' said your mum, and cooper _'it's not right, to have them brought out so far, and trot so quick.' _Then they saw me, and told me this was adult stuff."

"Maybe it has to do with what they were fighting about…" he said thinking. "_You are not freeing them if they never go back,_ mum said."

"Still doesn't make sense." She said as they got off the stairs and went down a corridor to her apartment.

"I guess." He said looking around; he was having flashes of when they use to play in these halls. He then remembered his mum and little hatter were visiting lily. He really didn't want to have his mum see him, as he was supposed to be at home with pa.

"Um I think I should go, mum said she was going to be here and I'm not suppose to be out."

"She won't be here, mums out. She went to see daisy with hen and cooper."

"No, she said she was going out to visit lily."

"Well may be they all went to see daisy. If so, you don't have to go yet, come on, come in just for a min." she said pulling him in, before letting him answer. He was going to protest, but as he was pulled in, he didn't hear his mum or hatter crying and thought it was ok, to come in for just a bit.

"And where have you been?" his pa yelled from behind, just as he got close to the house. "You know you aren't to be out by yourself! What were you thinking?" _'I was thinking you wouldn't notice.'_ He thought.

"I don't know…"

"Get in the house." He gruffly said leading him to the door. An hour passed before deer walked in the door with a sleeping hatter.

"You must have had fun with lily." Said farmer from the kitchen who was making soup.

"Ya…" She said gently putting hatter on the couch next to march. "I lost track of the time, hm that smells good."

"How's rose?" March asked.

"She's good, O that reminds me she gave me some plum cake, here it is." She said pulling the bundle from her bag. "What's with the face, honey?" she said looking at marches confused expression.

"Uh, why would she give you plum cake?" _'and when did you see her?' _he thought.

"O she's working at the bakery now, she got to take home some of the older things today." She said putting the loaf on the counter. "I should take you to see her; it's been a long time." _'I didn't see her with any plum cake?'_ He thought.

"He's not going anywhere anytime soon, with his little disappearing act today."

"What?"

"Your son decided to go off on his own all day. I didn't need the stress; he knows I'm leaving for a harvest tomorrow."

"O yes it's always about you isn't it and don't give me that face, I will deal with March. You just go on with your _harvest _ go to your room."

"But I'm hungry."

"You should have thought of that before." Little hatter woke up crying at all the noise. "go." She said pointing down the hall. March very slowly got off the couch dragging his feet to his room.

He could still hear them talking, from his room, he got his mums nursery book to distract him from the raised voices. It was filled with songs and story's she wrote. He liked to look at the pictures his grandpa made to go with them. After a while all the crying from hatter and the talking became silent and he fell asleep on top of the book on the floor. (He woke a few hours later to hatter in his crib and him in his bed with the book back on the shelf and His tummy gurgling. He decided to sneak out and get some of the soup.)

The next day was uneventful; March was really looking forward to going to Wabe with Bushmen though, so he found it hard to sit still.

"March would you look after hatter for a moment, I will just be outside." He nodded as she closed the front door. Hatter started to cry at his mum leaving.

"Its okay hatty, she's just out side, its okay." He said patting hatters back, but to no avail he cried even harder. Little hatter tried to crawl over to the door.

"No hatty, stay away from the door." He went to block him, then he saw his mum through the window, she was giving cooper some papers. March picked up hatter as best he could, and took him to the window to let hatty see mum and stop his crying.

"Look hatty, its mum, you see her?" his crying lessened a bit. Hatter started to call for her in his baby language and hitting the glass with his small pudgy hands. She and cooper both looked at them, but continued their talking. Hatter's cries grew again because he could not get to his mummy.

"Its ok, um you want to plum cake?" but little hatter wriggled his way out of marches grip and tried to open the door. Deer must have heard this cause she opened to door slowly.

"What's the matter sweetheart?" she said picking him up. "Mummy's here. March will you get the nursery book? I have something new to put in."

March was woken early the next morning to Bushmen's big voice.

"We have a long way to go son, you best be getting up now." He jumped out of bed and got dressed as fast as he could and rushed out to the living room.

"Hey, you aren't going anywhere with out breakfast, put your tush down right here." She said to pulling out a chair, with a bowl of oatmeal in her other hand. "Eat, then you can go."

"This is your boat?" march said in wonder, as they got to the east shore, it was so simple and unnoticeable.

"Ya I made it just for you, you know if you ever want to go off on your own; made from the scraps of my trade, perfect for hiding." After a few hours bushmen teaching him to clime the trees for a better view and safety, March had this feeling like he could sense where the creatures were, but it would shift the closer and further from the animal they were.

"What is that?" he asked after a time.

"Looks like a borogove." Bushmen said looking at some scat.

"No, the shadow thing." He didn't any better way to explain it.

"It's just the trees; sometimes they can make you think you see things." March nodded, but wasn't sure if he answered his question or had no idea. March spent the rest of the trip thinking about this.

"Can animals leave behind other things besides tracks?" he finally asked on their way back to the boat the next day.

"They leave smells, but our noses are not sensitive enough to smell most of them. Lets get back." march knew that this meant that it was time to be quiet.

When he got back to the house he could hear his pa yelling about something, but the strange thing was that he did not hear his mum or even hatter.

"Pa?" march said warily closing the door behind him. He was still wearing his work clothes; mum didn't like him to wear them in the house.

"What do they think they were doing?" he was saying to the room not hearing march. "Betraying the queen, they must have known what would happen?" there was a knock on the door. March answered it seeing as he still was next to it. He was loomed over by 5 suits.

"Number 8, the queen has asked for an assembly with you about the oyster's delivery."

"Pa, what's happening?" Farmer left not even looking at March; leaving him alone in the house. _'What am I suppose to do? Where's mum and where's hatty?_ He decided to go to Bushmen, maybe he knew. But before he left he saw the nursery book on the small table next to the door, it had a bow on it and a note. **Read me**. He grabbed the book and went to Bushmen's.

**This was supposed to be done in one chapter but there is too much****, this is just the beginning of March's story.**

**!Please Review!**

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	2. The Festival of Tea

Chapter two: The Festival of Tea

March followed what felt like Bushman's shadow thingy and large boot tracks in the dirt, they took him a way, he never would have gone but it got him there faster than he thought possible. As he walked he wondered what the note on the book meant but he did not want to waist any time on his trek to find out. As he walked down the hall to Bushmen's he could hear Hatter crying. His hopes heightened, he ran to the door and started banging on the door yelling.

"Mum, mum?" rose opened the door, with a long face. March looked in but he did not see his mum, the only ones he saw was rose with the crying Hatter in here arms.

"She's not here, pa went to look for them…" she said in a distant kind of way. March walked in guiding Rose to the couch and taking Hatter from her and sitting him on the other side of him, Hatter seeing March seemed to calm him a bit.

"What do you mean, them?" he said has delicate as he could.

"Their gone, your and my mum. That's all I-we know." She paused looking at the floor March pleaded with his stair for her to go on. She continued thinking back to the morning. "Your mum came over early and said for me to watch Hatter. Then they left with Hen, Rooster, and Cooper." March tried to put it together.

"The suits came to my house and took pa, he seemed to know what was happening, but I'm not even sure he knew I was there." He said that last part more to himself. "He said something about betraying the queen, you don't think." Rose and March didn't say anything more; both were thinking about what this all meant.

Rose and Hatter fell asleep on her bed, but March could not still his thoughts, Then he remembered the book, he left Rose and Hatter in his old room and went to the front and sat on one of the big chairs. He just looked at the small note on it for a moment and remembered she said she had put something new in the book. He flipped to the back and found the new entry and read.

The banker's dame has bags of gold,

O money to burn has she;

Yes she has, I did behold!

I saw the banker's dame gather her gold;

With mine own eyes I did see!

Though it not hers to have;

She holds it over thy head!

Ye jump and praise;

To get a taste her gold!

But

The poor laborer

Is content all the day,

When he follows the plough,

He sings always;

For there's no king nor prince,

No duke, nor seigneur,

But lives from the work of the poor laborer!

At the bottom of the page was a rushed scribble: _be good my boys and see the words. Don't take the gold, it slaves you and dim._

He mindlessly flipped through the pages after reading the last page to many times to count. Then he saw more of that same scribble writing, it was all over the book. It started right from the front of the book, he excitedly read. Flipping the pages the words were on.

In spring, when woods are getting green, I'll try and tell you what I mean;

In summer, when the days are long, perhaps you'll understand the song;

In autumn, when the leaves are brown, take pen and ink and write it down.

In winter, with out the frost, the blinding snow, the storm-wind's mood madness;

The magic woods shall hold the fast.

Then he could not find any more, it just ended. He looked for more but it was no good there was nothing more. Just as he gave up and closed the book. Rose came in.

"What are you doing?" she asked but he heard low voices from the outside hall he shushed her as the door opened.

"Where's mum?" she asked right away when she saw Bushmen, He looked to Farmer and made a small nod and said nothing.

"March get Hatter, were off home now." He said this in a dry but tired way. On there way home it was a quiet walk back in the dark. Farmer wrapped Hatter in his robes and Hatter slept the whole way home all warm in his pa's arms. As they got close to the house Farmer put his arm on March's shoulder, but after a moment he had to move it to better hold on to Hatter. When they got in the house Farmer said.

"I have to talk you, wait here while I put little Hatter down." He left March in the front room. he just stood there blankly. He was so tired; all he wanted to do was go to bed. Farmer came back rubbing his face and sat himself down in a heap.

"Okay, sit down March." He said gesturing for him to sit next to him. March shuffled over.

"Um, your mum, is not coming home."

"What do you mean, like tonight?"

"No, I mean ever. You see she did something very bad and her punishment is she can never come home. The thing is she was not alone, lily's mum was there too with Hen and her brothers and with mum gone I am going to need you to help with hatter when I'm gone, okay?"

"Yes." March answered, he thought back to what he and mum were fighting about. "Pa, what is your job?"

"I think you should go to bed, its very late, yeah." His father gave him a look he had never seen, he had a sweet smile but it also a sadness, it was far from his normal look of irritation. It jarred him so, he went to bed with no further questions.

The next few weeks were odd, March kept hearing his pa talk to him self saying things like _'how could she do that to us?'_ and _'she just didn't get it, she should had listened to me.'_ But when he was with him and Hatter he was almost silent. March continued to ask him questions about what his job was. he never really cared before but the more he thought, the more he thought it was the key.

ooOOooOOoo

The next few years March really enjoyed being a big brother, he got to see rose more and more and when pa was gone on a harvest he and Bushmen would go off. He was getting really good at tracking and hunting now, he would leave Hatter with Rose or her cousin (Violet) if she got stuck at the bakery. He still tried to find out what really happened with his mum, he tried to asked Rose about it long ago but she never wanted to talk about it.

March came running in to the house with Rose.

"Pa? Pa?" he yelled. "Is it true, there's going to be a festival?"

"Yup after all these years, finally there will be product." He said proudly but in his normal stillness as he prepared super.

"Wow! This is so cool. 'The festival of tea'. Eh what is this tea?" he asked

"You are not aloud to have any of it, ok." He said sternly

"Why not?"

"You don't need it, ok. It's for grown ups and your mother would not like it."

"But what is it?"

"Its pearls from the oysters, I harvest. They have strong powers over your perception of things." March told Hatter all about it, he was just has excited. The next week March, Hatter and many others went to see if they could be apart of the festival, as this was the biggest thing to happen in many many years.

March and little Hatter volunteered to be distributors which meant they would help out with the food and get messages to the different vender's. March wanted Rose to go with them but she was working long hours trying to get the breads and cakes read for the event.

on the day of the festival, it was in the hills just outside of the city so March was one of the first ones there, Hatter went to help Rose and the bakery master get all the brown and white breads and plum cakes to the location. He was only there a few moments when a spade came up to him.

"You are one of the volunteer's? Ok we need you to get ham sandwiches for the king, take this and fill it, make sure it's full." The spade thrusted a small leather sack to him. "Well get going." At that March took off back to the city eager to help, he really did not know were he could get a ham sandwich since he had only had meat that he and Bushman caught, March thought fast _'bread I need bread, I hope rose and hatter have made their way by now, I can grab one the loafs, then the ham, were do I get ham"._ He thought hard, then remembered his pa saying how when he was a boy he worked at the stable, feeding the animals and would take them to the butcher on the second level. He ran into Hatter on his way to the butcher. He was pushing a chart filled with bread covered in a sheet. Little Hatter was huffing and puffing as March stopped him.

"I need a white bread." He said just taking one loaf and rushing off.

"Hey, where you going?" little Hatter asked confused looking after him.

"I'll be right back Hatty. Go on and have fun." March yelled from behind his back as he ran. He had made it to the butcher's right quick, it was easy to find March found, even though he had never been in that part of the city before. You did not have to be an experienced tracker to know animals had been there. He slammed into the door as it was locked. He banded on it a few times before he saw a note in the window.

*Closed for the tea festival*

"O come on." He wined in frustration. He looked about and saw that the small window just above the door was cracked open. With out thinking he jumped up and just managed to reach the frame of the small triangle window, then hoisted him self up with his legs to reach the sign above. Then slyly slide in feet first, and landed rather lightly. He looked about the disarray of the shop for a cooked ham. He riffled through the butcher paper and found one in the back. He quickly got his knife out and sliced in up along with the bread. He was feeling pretty proud about him self. He put the sandwich in the sack but it did feel full. This worried him, but if he made another one it would not fit. _'what to do? Well the spade said it had to be filled but with what was unclear, sort of.'_ He thought he could maybe keep the sandwich fresh better if it was covered in hay so he rushed out to the stable and got a handful and stuffed it the bottom and made his way back to the festival.

Then get got back he was almost out of breath when he ran into his pa.

"What have you been doing?" Farmer asked with that tone that sounded so accusing, which march really hated.

"A task for the king." He said proud and loud. Farmer took the pouch March had around his neck. Then shacking it and looking in.

"Hm the king's favorite, where did you get this?"

"It was donated." He answered when the same spade that asked him to get the sandwich can over.

"Good the king has been asking for that." The spade took the pouch from Farmer. "Good lad." The spade said looking to March then walking away. March was feeling pretty good as rose came over.

"What's happening over there?" she asked pointing to a small crown to their right. Farmer answered.

"The fight must be starting." He said dully as a women dressed in a red and white dress with hearts on the shoulders came over.

"Tea, sample? Calm, excitement, passion? Would you like a sample?" She asked looking to March smiling.

"No we are fine thanks." farmer said. She paused looking at Farmer, then her face became still and she moved on continuing in her soft happy tone. "You are never to have take tea." March was ignoring him thinking _'ya what ever'_, But he continued never looking at him or Rose. "Your mum wouldn't want you to. Where's little Hatter?"

"Um, he's behind you." Rose said looking past him. He was taking a cup of hot tea from the brood tea booth and taking a hank of bread from his pocket. Little Hatter saw them and walked over with a big smile.

"Hey your back. Where did you go?"

"I just had to fetch something."

"Well, you have missed some great fun. O pa some spade was asking for you. Uh him there." He pointed to the same spade that took the pouch from Farmer. Farmer went off, leaving them.

"So what have I missed then Hatty?" little Hatter tried to answer but he had stuffed half of the bread he had in his mouth. "Speak, can't you?" Hatter took a gulp of tea to wash the bread down faster. March looked to Rose who was looking around not paying attention; March was getting a bit irritated. "Hatty, come on?" He took another gulp and gasped trying to speak.

"I'm going to find Daisy." Rose said turning and walking off. Hatter did not notice her leave and spoke excitedly to tell what March what he missed.

"O there was this parade of people dressed like oysters you know like from the north sea! Did you see that hat with the leather tie? It was so cool." Hatter added. Just then the sound of drums stopped him from continuing. "What's that?" March scanned the crowd has it was parting and saw the royal spears leading the way.

"The queen's here. Come on lets get closer." March pulled Hatter with him, he knew he would get lost in the people and there way no way he was going to let either of them miss this. He pushed their way to the front when the drums stopped.

"Passion, excitement, calm, happiness. Are now easy to come by. This festival is the mark of a new wonderland." The queen said. "A wonderland of no pain just the good things. Wonderland will never be the same, with the oysters and their pearls." At that people dressed like big oysters were throwing small vials from their shells. The crowd all cheered and clamored to ketch them, it was clear that some had already had taken some already. Hatter went to pick up one of the one inch vials, but March saw this and yanked him back up by the collar.

"What are you doing, you're to young."

"Who said?"

"I did, and pa _and mum_." He whispered the latter in a mumble. He had figured that this was why his parents were fighting and if his mum didn't like it was good enough for him. March looked back up to see Rose standing next to the queen and Jack the queen's son. She was pulling one of the carts that was full of plum cake.

"Here is to the end of pain, so let there be cake!" the king said, Rose curtsied to him and the queen and prince, and started to pass out the cake along with the other suits.

The next few weeks Hatter could not stop talking about the festival, March would not have cared much but had not seem Rose since then. A few times he went to the bakery, but she was never there. He felt restless cause no body was around, pa and Bushman were both out working and Hatter started to go into the city, he liked to hang around the hat shop and look at all the hats. March spent his down time just walking around the city. Some night's he would not come home but would just sleep in the abandoned levels.

When pa came home after his 2 week trip he was not alone.

"March?" Farmer called to the empty house. "I'm sure he'll be home soon."

**T****here is much more to come. I wonder who this person is with farmer is and why is he there?**

**!Please Review!**

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	3. Apprenticeship To New Places

Chapter 3 Apprenticeship to New Places

March walked in front of the hat shop for a few minutes waiting for Hatter to come out.

"Hey Hatty, we need to get going, pa should be home soon." March said from the door of the hat shop, he did not go in, just one foot in the door. "Hatty, you here?" he could not sense him, the last few weeks he spent his time learning the streets and honing his skill reading the shadows, but Hatter's shadow was weak now. He thought maybe he had left already, But then he heard his little hurried feet.

"I'm coming, sorry I've just been in the back. The master let me watch him form a wool hat." March cut off little Hatter's excited words.

"Come on we have to get home. Maybe Pa has brought back something this time." he said closing the door and starting down the stairs.

"Oh yeah, like those dried meats or, or what did he call it pit-aza?" Hatter said hopping in excitement in front of March and beaming.

"Hm, well we'll see. Tell me more about the wool hat, were you back there all day?"

"Not _all_ day. Where were you last night?" Hatter said changing to a more somber tone. "I don't like being at the house alone."

"I know Hatty, maybe next time you could go up to Bushmen's."

"Eh I don't, um." Hatter replied shakily staying behind him now.

"You don't have to, Hatty. If you don't want." He said seeing his fear in that idea. "Come on tell me more about the master." All the way home little Hatter jabbered on about all the tools and fabric's and what not, though getting tired half way home, March then carried him the rest of the way home piggy back.

As March opened the door with a half asleep Hatter still on his back, he could sense pa was home and he was not alone.

"Pa who's here?" he asked to the empty living room as he put Hatter on the couch. Who curled in a ball, rubbing his eyes, was too tired to get up.

"Is little Hatter with you?" Farmer said looking in through the kitchen window. "Good." He said seeing Hatter shift onto his other side. "Hope you been looking after him. Get in here, someone's here to talk to you." He finished sounding irritated. March could not think of a reason for him to be irritated with him, _'I haven't done anything yet'_. He pushed open the swing door. Farmer gave the man a look of unease, and then cleared his throat.

"Right." Farmer said leaving the kitchen and him alone with the man.

"Hello there, lad." The man said, March looked at him for the first time. He knew that face, why did he know that face? Then he remembered as he continued talking.

"You did very well back at the festival. The queen was very impressed when I told her about you. So you will be 10 soon, the queen would like you to study to work with the white rabbit. How do you feel about that?" March could not help but smile, '_the queen was talking about me? She wants me to work for the "white rabbit"!' _he was swelling with pride.

"I think it's brilliant! I was thinking of being a messenger, but this is." _'Working for the queen…' _he did not really know what the white rabbit did all he really knew that they worked closely with the queen.

"So are you saying yes to this?"

"Yes." He said trying not to sound so eager.

"Good she will be pleased. Meet Counsel Man Club K at the top level tomorrow. He will inform you more on this. I trust you know how to get there?" March nodded.

March only had butter smeared on a hank of bread that morning, he was too eager to get to the top levels and wait for the counsel man. He left before Hatter or pa woke up. He had only been to the top levels once. His grandpa took him there when he was very young to see the stairs, so he was not really sure how to get there, but in the last few weeks he had become well versed in how the city levels connected so he was sure it would be easy find and it was. He wondered why he was going to meet the counsel man on the top level; '_it seems a strange place'_ he thought. He walked around the edges looking at the wonderful way it dropped off. He thought of stepping off, to feel the feeling it would it would bring, to only be surrounded by air, but thought better of it and just sat on the edge and laid back in the gravel, time passed and passed with no sign of anyone coming. Soon, though he heard a rattling off in the distance. He sat up looking down to see where it was coming from, but it was coming not from the lower city but from the snow covered mountains. As the noise got louder the more it sounded like something he heard in Wabe. Then he saw it, a giant scarab was flying right at him. He had heard people on the streets saying they saw a fling beetle, but he thought they were just on some tea thrill. As it landed next to him, he noticed his mouth was gapping, so he closed it as he stood up.

Out came a man dressed in similar robes as Pa but these had a **K** on them instead of an 8.

"March?" he asked. March just nodded finding no words. "Well come along boy, no time to waste." He said waving him over as he walked back in the craft. March hurried over excited to see the inside and wondered where they were going to go.

"Get this thing going, seven." March stood in the back waiting for information. "You will be working Agent White." He said turning back to March. "He's not really our best man, but it will be good to start you out on. Now we are going to the casino to-."

"Um, casino?" March asked stopping Counsel Man.

"Oh of course you don't know that yet, really starting with nothing with this one." He said to the driver. "Yes the casino is where we harvest the oysters for the teas, but that's not why we are going there, you will be meeting with the queen. Then you will shadow Agent White for the next few weeks, then the queen will see if you're ready to go on your own." March could not believe his luck, but he still was unsure what he was going to be doing.

"And what does this White do?"

"He fetches information, sends messages and sometimes other things you will learn about that when you are ready."

When they got to the casino March could not stop looking around and taking in the large halls and clean, well everything. He had never seen anything so nice. There were girls everywhere too. They all looked the same to him; they passed so many on their way to the queen's throne room, but one caught his eye. _'Rose, Could it be rose?'_ but before his voice found his mouth they turned a corner. He thought though '_it could not be rose, it must have been a trick of the light. I mean, I only saw her in the corner of my eye.'_ Soon he was in front of the queen of wonderland. He was in aw of the power that she carried. He was impressed in the way the few people that were in the room changed.

"So my child, I have been told of how you managed to help the king at the festival. I was surprised at how fast you managed the task. Given everyone was at the festival and all the shops were closed. Can you tell me how you managed that?"

"Well, your highness"

"No need to be so formal, son." March did a nod and continued.

"I slipped in through an open window, of the butcher shop."

"But the speed of it, the closest butcher was so far for such small legs."

"I have a knack for finding the fastest way to places. Though I must say I am much better at following, hm well anything." At that the queen's eyes seemed to glint as she nodded to the door. "This is Agent White; he will show you the ropes." She turned back towards the throne, and then looked back. "Well off you go." She said waving a hand at March.

The first few weeks were great, March could not help talking about the things he learned and went to. His Pa though seemed to be even more distant from him that normal. In fact he never spoke when March was around, but he could hear him talking with Hatter when he was not in the room, Farmer did manage to spit out some words in the like of _'Watch after Hatter for me,'_ and _'Why couldn't you be more like little Hatter_.' It wasn't always things like that. He often spoke in riddles, always to himself, but now that March started his apprenticeship the more he spoke like that. (Farmer really seemed to have a problem with it.) It reminded March of something but he could not really pin point it. The weeks still went on, he had not seen Rose at all or even Bushmen. This was odd, Bushmen normally came down to see him once a week, but there had been no sign of him, March had taken to going to his house, looking him and Rose. He never saw any shadow of him or any tracks from him. March sometimes saw a bit of Rose, but it was always to faint to follow. One night he thought he would wait for one of them to come back, but it was all for not.

He had almost given up on them, but he heard someone say something about one of the loggers daughters as he and agent white were going to get some papers from one of the tea den owners.

He got his first assignment. He was a bit disappointed to find it was for his Pa. He was to deliver the next harvest information.

On his way home he could not help but see what was in the envelope. He ducked into one of the old factory lofts, so he could read it with on prying eyes. There was not a lot of it he understood, it seemed like a lot of jargon, but there was one thing that caught his interest. **'Make sure the oysters are marked before transit'**. _'What did that mean?'_ He thought. When he got home he asked his pa what that could mean, because March had assumed that the oysters meant the ones from the north sea like they had at the festival, but it made no sense. Why would they have to be tagged?

"We don't want them to get lost in the city." Farmer answered reading the next quota and drop off. Speaking, for the first time, directly to him.

"But how would they get lost, I mean they can't just walk off." his Pa didn't respond to him looking at another sheet. "How are they marked?" he asked thinking he would not get an answer again.

"A new kinda light, it marks their skin with a green tattoo."

"Skin?" March could not help himself. "What's an oyster?" Farmer seemed to ponder this a moment.

"A creature that is somewhat like us…" March watched him closely his, eyes seemed distant then he quickly blinked a few times. "You could almost feel bad; those oysters had a good run. So many pearls… I don't know why anyone would want to feel like them." Then Hatter came in the room, looking at March and his Pa oddly and Farmer gave March a warning glare. "Little Hatter, you look just like your mum, with that look." Farmer said with a small smile.

"You can really have on notion how delightful it will be when they take us up and throw us, with the oysters" Farmer said to himself going to the kitchen.

**I would love to know what you think of my story so far so please review.**

**! Please Review!**

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